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Riddles From "The Hobbit" Trivia Quiz

This quiz has the riddles from J.R.R. Tolkien's classic "The Hobbit" featuring Bilbo Baggins. I give you the riddle from Bilbo's duel with Gollum, and you give me the answer. They are all from Chapter 5, 'Riddles In the Dark'.

A multiple-choice quiz by Fi B. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Fi B

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
107,656

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
6373

Last 3 plays: Guest 8 (9/10), abquiz12 (10/10), MissDove (7/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. 'What has roots that nobody sees,
Is taller than trees
Up, up it goes,
And yet never grows?' Hint

Hill

Mountain

Peak

Ent

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. 'Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
Then they stand still.' Hint

None of these

Chestnuts

Teeth

Six Teeth

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. 'Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.' Hint

None of these

Breeze

Slipstream

Gale

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. 'An eye in a blue face
Saw an eye in a green face.
"That eye is like to this eye"
Said the first eye,
"But in low place,
Not in high place." ' Hint

Flowers in Spring

None of these

Summer flowers

Sun on the daisies

5. 'It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
It lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills.
It comes first and follows after,
Ends life, kills laughter.' Hint

Light

Blackness

Night

Dark

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. 'A box without hinges, key, or lid.
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.'

Answer: (One Word, starts with E, three letters)

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. 'Alive without breath,
Cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking.
All in mail never clinking.' Hint

Gollum

Sharks

Fish

Sea creatures

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. 'No-legs lay on one-leg, two-legs sat near on three-legs, four-legs got some.' You must give the answer that is in the book. Hint

Fish on a little table, man at table sitting on a stool, the cat has the bones.

Fish on a little table, man at table sitting on a stool, the dog has the bones.

Fish on a little table, woman at table sitting on a stool, the cat has the bones.

Worm on a little table, man at table sitting on a stool, the cat has the bones.

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. 'This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down.'

Answer: (One Word, 4 letters, starts with T)

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Bilbo's winning riddle was 'What have I got in my pocket?', accidentally speaking aloud. Which of the following was not one of Gollum's guesses? Hint

Handses

A ring

Knife

String, or nothing

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Most Recent Scores

Nov 29 2024 : Guest 8: 9/10
Nov 20 2024 : abquiz12: 10/10
Nov 09 2024 : MissDove: 7/10
Oct 29 2024 : MK240V: 3/10
Oct 26 2024 : Guest 94: 6/10
Oct 22 2024 : Guest 98: 6/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. 'What has roots that nobody sees, Is taller than trees Up, up it goes, And yet never grows?'

Answer: Mountain

Gollum asks this first riddle, as Bilbo 'had not had time to think of a riddle.'
'Easy!' Bilbo answered. 'Mountain, I suppose.'
Ents are the tree people from "The Lord of the Rings".

2. 'Thirty white horses on a red hill, First they champ, Then they stamp, Then they stand still.'

Answer: Teeth

Gollum replies: 'Chestnuts, chestnuts...teeth! teeth! my preciousss; but we has only six!'

3. 'Voiceless it cries, Wingless flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters.'

Answer: None of these

The answer is 'wind'. Bilbo needs 'Half a moment!' to figure this one out.

4. 'An eye in a blue face Saw an eye in a green face. "That eye is like to this eye" Said the first eye, "But in low place, Not in high place." '

Answer: Sun on the daisies

Gollum struggles to work out this answer, as 'he had been underground a long long time, and was forgetting this sort of thing.' We later discover this is because ever since he found the One Ring on his birthday and stole it from his brother Deagol, Smeagol (aka Gollum) has been hiding in the mountains.

5. 'It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.'

Answer: Dark

Bilbo knows the answer to this one straight away: 'Unfortunately for Gollum Bilbo had heard that sort of thing before; and the answer was all round him anyway.'

6. 'A box without hinges, key, or lid. Yet golden treasure inside is hid.'

Answer: Egg

This question is very common, and there are references to the crowns of an egg in William Shakespeare's "King Lear" as well. As Gollum would say, though, 'Eggses it is!' He remembers this as a childhood memory with his grandmother as well.

7. 'Alive without breath, Cold as death; Never thirsty, ever drinking. All in mail never clinking.'

Answer: Fish

Gollum poses this riddle to Bilbo, who guesses right when a fish swims across his feet.

8. 'No-legs lay on one-leg, two-legs sat near on three-legs, four-legs got some.' You must give the answer that is in the book.

Answer: Fish on a little table, man at table sitting on a stool, the cat has the bones.

Worms don't have skin anyway. This answer is really easy for Gollum to decipher, especially since the last riddle he had asked was about fish.

9. 'This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays king, ruins town, And beats high mountain down.'

Answer: Time

'Bilbo...wanted to shout out: "Give me more time! Give me time!" But all that came out with a sudden squeal was "Time! Time!" Bilbo was saved by pure luck. For that of course was the answer.'

10. Bilbo's winning riddle was 'What have I got in my pocket?', accidentally speaking aloud. Which of the following was not one of Gollum's guesses?

Answer: A ring

Gollum was allowed three guesses. Of course he did not guess a ring, because that of course was the right answer, and the One Ring whose journey is followed in Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". The ring derives from the poem:

'Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on hid dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.'

As you can see, Tolkien was a master at poetry and riddles, and was just as brilliant with prose. An excellent series, you should do the many quizzes on "The Lord of the Rings" quotes that are on this site. Hope you enjoyed my quiz!

Source: Author Fi B

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor nerthus before going online.
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